Preview — The Leader's Daughter
by Nicole Mafi

The Leader's Daughter

Nicole Mafi, the daughter of the notorious leader of the Kingston polygamist group, Paul Kingston, reveals her first hand account of being born in this famous cult, and the traumas that plagued her childhood. This rare memoir then follows her painful struggle and eventually her daring escape as a minor as well as the the complications of the legal system that prevented herNicole Mafi, the daughter of the notorious leader of the Kingston polygamist group, Paul Kingston, reveals her first hand account of being born in this famous cult, and the traumas that plagued her childhood. This rare memoir then follows her painful struggle and eventually her daring escape as a minor as well as the the complications of the legal system that prevented her safety. We then follow through her journey of coping and eventually healing from the childhood traumas she experienced in the culture....more

Community Reviews

This book has the ring of truth and was fascinating, but it was also a bit difficult to read. There were some errors that a spell checker won't catch, and for some reason the author kept using a star beside every person's name (I'm assuming to indicate they weren't the actual names) and it was like getting poked in the forehead every time I read a name. The book would benefit from an editor. Still, it's an important view into a world few people know orSubject matter riveting, needs more editing

This book has the ring of truth and was fascinating, but it was also a bit difficult to read. There were some errors that a spell checker won't catch, and for some reason the author kept using a star beside every person's name (I'm assuming to indicate they weren't the actual names) and it was like getting poked in the forehead every time I read a name. The book would benefit from an editor. Still, it's an important view into a world few people know or can imagine....more

I read this on my weekend off for Mother's Day after bingewatching Escaping Polygamy's latest season and found the author's AMA Reddit thread after googling myself down a rabbit hole. Nicole's story is honest and heartbreaking and intriguing, and I DID like it a lot- considering there aren't any other books about the Kingston clan, I am really glad she wrote a memoir. That said, the book itself was a little scattered and needed a good editor. For a self-published memoir, though, it's actually aI read this on my weekend off for Mother's Day after bingewatching Escaping Polygamy's latest season and found the author's AMA Reddit thread after googling myself down a rabbit hole. Nicole's story is honest and heartbreaking and intriguing, and I DID like it a lot- considering there aren't any other books about the Kingston clan, I am really glad she wrote a memoir. That said, the book itself was a little scattered and needed a good editor. For a self-published memoir, though, it's actually a solid first book. Three stars, almost 3.5- and a virtual hug to Ms. Mafi. I hope she is able to find peace in her own chosen/created family, and finds success in all that she does. Definitely recommended for cult and polygamy junkies....more

I wanted to love this book after finding the authors Ask Me Anything blog post. However, the book is all over the place. There are short, inconsistent stories stuck in random places in chapters. In the authors life, they may make sense in a timeline point of view, but the stories were incomplete and just a couple paragraphs in the middle of chapters where they didn’t belong. There are constant spelling and grammar mistakes that are hard to ignore. Because of the life the author lived, there wereI wanted to love this book after finding the authors Ask Me Anything blog post. However, the book is all over the place. There are short, inconsistent stories stuck in random places in chapters. In the authors life, they may make sense in a timeline point of view, but the stories were incomplete and just a couple paragraphs in the middle of chapters where they didn’t belong. There are constant spelling and grammar mistakes that are hard to ignore. Because of the life the author lived, there were a ton of characters in the book. It was pretty overwhelming. Some people introduced as brothers or sisters weren’t the same relation later in the story, someone who wife #27 was suddenly wife #25 on the next page. The wild amount of people in the book and their ever changing relationship to the author made everything so much harder to follow. The following is just a personal feeling I had, but during the earlier part of the authors story, it was very hard for me to believe. I believed the abuse and neglect stories, but some things she conceived that she thought, said or felt were pretty outlandish. As a sheltered 8 year old, it was really hard to believe that she was as free thinking as she led on to believe. Again, this is just my personal feelings. ...more

While the overall story in this book was good, so good I struggled to put it down at times, the lack of editing is a distraction and took away from it. There were so many errors in sentence structure, the story jumped around and was not in chronological order, I had pages that were blank except for a page number in mine, the table of contents was off...to put it kindly it was a mess. That said, I would recommend this book but with a warning of the above mentioned and with other book recs about pWhile the overall story in this book was good, so good I struggled to put it down at times, the lack of editing is a distraction and took away from it. There were so many errors in sentence structure, the story jumped around and was not in chronological order, I had pages that were blank except for a page number in mine, the table of contents was off...to put it kindly it was a mess. That said, I would recommend this book but with a warning of the above mentioned and with other book recs about polygamy that have been better edited....more

3.5 Stars. After reading this book, I can see that the order has only gotten more destructive and abusive since I left it in 1979. It sickens me that those in charge have tightened the rules so much and have become more and more violent. I am also disgusted that the Attorney General of Utah is in their pocket.

I hope Mafi writes a second edition and hires an editor. Standard English and grammar are not taught in the order schools, so Mafi did okay considering her background and home language, bu3.5 Stars. After reading this book, I can see that the order has only gotten more destructive and abusive since I left it in 1979. It sickens me that those in charge have tightened the rules so much and have become more and more violent. I am also disgusted that the Attorney General of Utah is in their pocket.

I hope Mafi writes a second edition and hires an editor. Standard English and grammar are not taught in the order schools, so Mafi did okay considering her background and home language, but this book needs an editor. ...more